December 2002

Local Coordination Key to CEPF Expansion

Key to success is ensuring that the right organizations are involved in the right projects from the outset. As part of its expansion in 2002, CEPF launched a new approach to coordinate and expand its portfolio from the ground.

November 2002

Rainforest Alliance to Expand Virtual Conservation Resource in Neotropics

Eco-Index, a Web-based, bilingual almanac of nearly 400 conservation projects in Mesoamerica, will be dramatically expanded over the next year. The expansion will include adding more projects in the region and projects in the Atlantic Forest, Chocó-Darién-Western Ecuador and Tropical Andes hotspots as part of a CEPF grant approved in late October.

October 2002

Team Pioneers Coalition-Led Approach to Conservation

A pioneering team of more than 30 individuals from 15 institutions in Namibia and South Africa are working together to establish a common vision and strategy among diverse stakeholders for conservation of the Succulent Karoo biodiversity hotspot.

September 2002

CI Targets Critical Threat to Biodiversity in Ghana

Conservation International (CI) launched an ambitious public awareness campaign in Ghana in late August to stop a growing trade in wild animals for food that threatens many endangered species. While meat from wild animals provides important protein for rural communities, the scale of consumption is now causing irreversible declines in important animal populations.

August 2002

Peruvian Government Extends Manu National Park

The Government of Peru issued a supreme decree in July extending Manu National Park by 215,538 hectares, bringing the park's total area to 1,716,295 hectares. The action is another dramatic advance for turning the Vilcabamba-Amboró conservation corridor, a 30-million-hectare expanse of high biodiversity straddling the Bolivia-Peru border, into a reality.

July 2002

Japanese Government Joins Partnership to Protect Biodiversity Hotspots

The Japanese government announced its most significant contribution ever to support private conservation groups by joining the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) in June.

June 2002

Survey Finds Surprising Diversity but Warns of Disappearing Species

The Volta-Togo highlands in the Guinean Forests of West Africa hotspot harbor more amphibian species than previously thought, according to the results of a new CEPF-funded herpetological survey. However, the survey failed to find previously recorded species and recommends urgent action to protect remaining forest fragments and avoid extinctions.

May 2002

Dramatic Actions Advance Vision for Vilcabamba-Amboró Conservation Corridor

Directors of three protected areas in the Tropical Andes hotspot signed a landmark transnational agreement in April to jointly coordinate and implement management efforts.

April 2002

Inside Sumatra

In February, CEPF staff stood amid what some researchers believe is the biologically richest forest in Sumatra and heard only the sound of nearby chainsaws.

March 2002

CEPF Expands to Nine Hotspots

This year marks a major expansion for CEPF with grants for conservation projects now available in six additional biodiversity hotspots. The total amount available in these hotspots is $41.5 million over five years.